JAKARTA, INDONESIA — The Lion Air Group plans to significantly increase the size of its fleet by acquiring around 80 new aircraft in 2023 and expanding into new markets in South Asia, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan.

Lion Air Group's Daniel Putut Kuncoro Adi announced at a conference in Jakarta that the company had added 43 new aircraft to its fleet in the past year, but that this number only accounted for about 50% of the additional aircraft the group needed to meet its expansion goals. The remaining aircraft will be acquired in 2023.

The Lion Air Group is a conglomerate of several airlines, including Lion Air, Wings Air (Indonesia), Super Air Jet, Batik Air, Batik Air Malaysia, and Thai Lion Air. The group operates a total of 317 aircraft, with its Indonesian-based airlines operating 287 of those. Within this number, Lion Air operates 111 aircraft. It is not clear which specific airline within the group will receive the new aircraft being acquired in 2023, but all of the group's airlines have been gradually returning their planes to service as passenger demand has increased throughout 2022.

Based on fleet data, only a small number of aircraft from the six airlines within the Lion Air Group are currently classified as inactive. This classification includes planes that have been removed from service due to both scheduled maintenance and market demand.

According to the latest orders data, Lion Air Indonesia has placed orders for 113 A320-200N and 65 A321-200N planes with Airbus, while Lion Air's undelivered orders from Boeing consist of 230 B737 MAX aircraft. In addition, Lion Air Group plans to increase its flights from Indonesia to Singapore Changi, Kuala Lumpur International, and Penang in 2023 and also plans to launch routes to airports in South Asia this year.